Editorial: First act on the 'fiscal cliff'

"We're kind of in the first act of a three-act play. One of the key messages from the cliff is that this stuff just doesn't get resolved quickly." - Ethan Harris, co-head of global economics at Bank of America Merrill Lynch

The stock markets woke up Wednesday morning relatively pleased with the bit of stability the New Year's budget deal that scraped through Congress by the close of Wednesday.

The deal avoided the so-called "fiscal cliff." But after months of procrastination, the deal couldn't avoid a very real and growing disenchantment with the White House, the Senate, the House and any of the other intractable forces contributing to the situation.

The nuts and bolts of the negotiations will result in higher federal taxes for most Americans. The Associated Press quoted the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan Washington research group, which estimating that 77 percent of American households will face higher federal taxes, depending on what they bring home in pay.

What wasn't as clear was where Congress and President Barack Obama would go from here.

The second and third acts of this play are coming. And as trite as it became during the "fiscal cliff" discussions to hear claims of "kicking the can down the road," Americans are likely to see similar fights over federal taxes and ballooned spending sooner rather than later.

The crunch of heels digging in can be heard in the backdrop of comments from the Indiana delegation.

? Sen. Dan Coats, a Republican who voted for the deal, said: "Careening from crisis to crisis, addressing the fiscal cliff in the 11th hour is no way to govern. Once again, Washington missed an opportunity to present a real, long-term deficit reduction plan that would address our fiscal crisis. This stop gap measure is simply the lesser of two evils."

? Rep. Todd Rokita, a Republican who voted against the deal, said: "I will not consign our children to a debtors' prison just to block President Obama's tax hikes. While Congress and the White House have steered the nation around a fiscal pothole tonight, we are still hurtling toward the real fiscal cliff."

? Rep. Joe Donnelly, a Democrat who voted for the deal and who is set to move over to the Senate, said: "It is far from perfect ... but the American people deserve a Congress that is willing to compromise to get things done."

What Americans deserve and what they get are two different things.

The negotiations might as well start now. We've all seen how Washington, D.C., deals with deadlines.